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Space Science

Comet Machholz Now Visible to Naked Eye 30

Posted by timothy from the does-not-apply-to-heavy-glasses-wearers dept.
An anonymous reader submits "A comet discovered only this summer is brightening quickly and already visible to the unaided eye. Comet Macholz should be visible to the unaided eye until late January. On the night of January 7 - 8, it will sail about 2 degrees (4 Moon widths) to the west of the easily recognisable Pleiades star cluster, often known as the Seven Sisters. It will be at its closest to Earth Jan. 5-6, 2005, when it will be 32 million miles away." (Mentioned a few days ago, too.)
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Comet Machholz Now Visible to Naked Eye More

Comet Machholz Now Visible to Naked Eye

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  • "I make it a point to never to turn my head unless I expect to see something, Bart. Naturally, we can't see your comet in broad daylight and without a telescope."
    On Topic, will this be visible from the sothern hemisphere?

    • Re:Obligatory (Score:4, Informative)

      by DiSKiLLeR ( 17651 ) on Monday January 03, 2005 @10:16PM (#11250976) Homepage Journal
      I'm looking at Starry Night.

      Its visible about 20 degrees in the sky to the north, after 10:30pm adelaide time.

      I went to see it 2 days ago (after the first slashdot story) but it was cloudy... and its cloudy every damn day.

      I suggest you drive up north up port wakefield road somewhere to get away from the city lights to somewhere real dark to try and look, but only if the weather cooperates.

      In a few days time you won't see it at all as it won't appear above the horizon at all for us southern hemisphere observers. Northen hemisphere observers are in for a real treat I think.

      D.

      • Re:Obligatory (Score:3, Interesting)

        by thegrassyknowl ( 762218 )
        Blasted clouds... well, I'm off to invent some kind of cloud transparent making machine.

        I haven't seen anything that says this baby should be seen in Adelaide (or the southern hemisphere at all). I wish it wasn't so cloudy... I'd head out and have a look.

        Whatever you do, don't turn left just before Pt Wakefield (heading north) .. there is some sort of army proving ground out there and we were hassled by police for even turning down that road to stop and look up late one night.

        A.

  • It's all over now. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Mish ( 50810 ) on Monday January 03, 2005 @10:10PM (#11250954)
    A comet discovered only this summer is brightening quickly and already visible to the unaided eye. Comet Macholz should be visible to the unaided eye until late January...
    ...At which point it'll impact the earth and no-longer be visable? ;)
  • Since this is slashdot:

    mach -> make
    holz -> wood
    newly discovered comet -> new star

    It's the making of Wormwood! Forget all that Chernobyl hocus pocus. Maybe when Tempel 1 gets impacted, a piece will hit machholz causing it to make a direct course for Earth.

    We're doomed!
  • What good are all those billions we spend for NASA's budget, when we don't even have a single hydrogen bomb-carrying spaceship [imdb.com]? Can we trust the Space Administration to be able to dig up even a single team of expert oil drillers [imdb.com] to blow up Machholz once it's inevitably revealed as the Texas-sized planet killer it surely is? I think not.

  • Argh (Score:1)

    by c0bw3b ( 530842 )
    Perihelion is wednesday and snow is predicted all week here in Michigan. I need to move to a better climate.
    • It's nice and clear here in southern Saskatchewan... but it's -38 degrees C too (-36 to you obsolete Fahrenheiters ;) ). Hmm. Let's take a survey to see which is better. :) MAN FOUND DEAD, FROZEN IN FIELD Wrote note: "Comet is Gorgeous!"

  • Naked Eye (Score:3, Informative)

    by Captain Chad ( 102831 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @03:53AM (#11252109) Homepage

    From one of the articles [news-about-space.org]: "In binoculars, look for an object that is fuzzy compared with the much more distant stars."

    This doesn't really meet my definition of "naked eye." I guess I was expecting something like the Hale-Bopp comet which was easily visible to the unaided, naked eye. This one appears to be much farther away.

    • Re:Naked Eye (Score:2, Insightful)

      by fvbommel ( 795367 )
      From the same article: "It should be visible to the unaided eye until late January..."

      I think what they meant was it will be visible to the naked eye, but if you look at it through binoculars it will be fuzzy compared to the stars.
    • You can actually see it with the naked eye. I saw it early in December when it was down below Orion and to the right of the Rabbit or whatever those 6 stars are. It was pretty unglamourous, and I could barely make it out, after looking for a long time. It basically just looked like a fuzzy spot, much like the Orion Nebula, but even more dim. Also this is way out here in the boonies pretty far from cities, with the moon pretty newish that night. (Couldn't find my stinking binoculars!!)

      Unfortunately, n

      • From here in Texas near Dallas, the shores of Lake Tawakoni to be exact, I saw it true naked eye on Saturday night. A definite little fuzzball south southwest of the Pleiades. Simply, at 10PM or so go stand outside for a while and avoid looking at any lights. Face south and then look straight up. You should see the Pleiades almost overhead and Orion to the east. Follow a line from Bellatrix (HIS left shoulder as he faces you) through his his outstretched arm to his bow and keep going until you've crossed so
  • ...in my experience means: "Visible to the naked eye of an experienced observer under the age of 40 with good eyesight whose eyes have been dark-adapted for at least half an hour, on a clear night in dry weather with no moon, at time at least three hours after sunset or three hours when the object is at least 40 degrees above the horizon, on a hill with dry air at least a fifty miles from any town with a population of over 2,000 ."

    If you can see and count seven Pleiades and if you are in a place where you

    • ...in my experience means: "Visible to the naked eye of an experienced observer under the age of 40 with good eyesight whose eyes have been dark-adapted for at least half an hour, on a clear night in dry weather with no moon, at time at least three hours after sunset or three hours when the object is at least 40 degrees above the horizon, on a hill with dry air at least a fifty miles from any town with a population of over 2,000 ."

      Exactly right. Take back the night. Learn how to curb light pollution at d [darksky.org]

  • Comet: it makes your face turn green
    O, Comet: it smells like Listerine!
    O, Comet: It makes you vomit
    So buy some Comet and vomit today!

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